ANAHEIM – Even as the big-minute defenseman that he has been for the Ducks over the years, Cam Fowler has his strengths and deficiencies.

There are those who could stand to see Fowler be more physical in front of his net instead of relying a lot on his stick work to deter offensive forwards. The occasional lost battle or coverage misread can elicit groans from those who zoom in on the flaws in his game.

But when it comes to pure skating and the ability to carry the puck out of his own zone without the need of a pass, Fowler may have no equal among the Ducks. And it is one aspect they miss greatly with the defender watching the first-round Western Conference playoff series against San Jose.

Fowler remains sidelined due to a shoulder injury suffered late in the third period of an April 1 home game against Colorado. An original wide-ranging timetable of two-to-six weeks was set and that has held, with Ducks coach Randy Carlyle saying Sunday that Fowler will not travel up north for Games 3 or 4.

It was expected. Fowler has yet to resume skating and the likelihood that he can return by the end of the series is minimal. The question of his availability will become moot if the Ducks aren’t able to beat the Sharks and get the series back to Honda Center for Game 5 or extend it any further.

After their 3-2 loss to the Sharks in Game 2, Carlyle again lamented the Ducks’ trouble with exiting out of their own zone in a quick and crisp manner. Fowler’s puck-handling and skating can prove essential in those times when it is necessary to relieve the forechecking pressure being applied.

“There’s a calmness about Cam,” Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf said. “Any No. 1 (defenseman) in the league for that matter. It’s an element that obviously we have to overcome. We have a very capable back end at the moment and we just need to work with who’s out there.

“Obviously without Cam in the lineup, guys have to step up and fill those roles. But, yeah, he brings a calmness to the game that you can use in certain situations.”

With Fowler out, Brandon Montour is playing alongside Francois Beauchemin. It has put more pressure on Montour to be the chief puck mover among the duo, as well as be the lone defenseman to run the power play. There is a residual effect, though Carlyle downplayed the breakout issue Sunday.

“Well, he’s an elite-level skater for sure,” Carlyle said. “If you look at the games and the way they’ve been played, there’s been virtually very minimal play in the neutral ice. A lot of pucks being stretched. And then it’s all about the ability to retrieve the puck and execute your breakout versus the opposition’s forecheck.

“That really has been the way the first two games have been played. That and special teams.”

LINDHOLM SOARS

Hampus Lindholm was the Ducks’ best player in Game 2. The defenseman impacted them in all areas, showing his physical side on defense in putting San Jose’s Evander Kane on the ice with a big body check and factoring directly in both goals by scoring one and getting the only assist on the other.

It was an example of Lindholm’s continued evolution into a dominant player.

“I know in his mindset, he’s so comfortable playing against other team’s top players,” Ducks winger Rickard Rakell said. “He can do it in all kinds of ways. He’s such a competitor. He’s a really good player and he’s huge for us.”

Said Carlyle: “He stood out. He was an individual that if you didn’t recognize him, you weren’t a hockey fan.”

Getzlaf knows the ability to control all areas of the rink. The center has seen Lindholm’s growth over the defender’s five seasons.

“It’s about growing (into) where you’re a dominating force all the time,” Getzlaf said. “It’s about doing the little things differently and making sure he’s leading that back end all the time. He’s their leader back there right now. And he’s been good for us all year and he’s got to continue to do that.

Asked if Lindholm is at that dominant stage, Getzlaf said. “He doesn’t have a choice.”

QUESTIONABLE CHOICE

Corey Perry took himself off the ice during a critical period of Game 2 as his decision to level Sharks forward Melker Karlsson with 3:43 left in regulation resulted in an interference penalty and a shorthanded situation with the Ducks down a goal.

Perry vehemently disagreed with the call on the grounds that Karlsson was attempting to play the puck as two others were battling for it along the boards in the San Jose zone but his demonstrative hit is what likely drew the whistle.

“I think it would have been better served to be less violent,” Carlyle said. “I think it still was a play where he could have taken the body. The opportunity to lay a body check on him on an opposing player that’s fishing for a puck, it’s kind of borderline.

“It’s an iffy play and the referee made the call based upon he felt that it was too violent.”